Berrettini puts Italy 1-0 ahead of Austria in Davis Cup quarterfinal

By Canadian Press on November 19, 2025.

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Matteo Berrettini beat Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 7-6 (4) to put defending two-time champion Italy 1-0 ahead of Austria in their Davis Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Berrettini was 5-2 down in the second set before coming back with a break in ninth game. He saved three set points against his 177th-ranked opponent in the following game and prevailed in the tiebreaker by converting his first match point.

Italy’s Flavio Cobolli will face Filip Misolic in the second singles, as Austria tries to force a deciding doubles match.

Top-ranked Italy is seeking the third straight title and fourth overall. The winner of the tie will face Belgium in the semifinals on Friday.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner, who led Italy to titles in 2023 and 2024, opted to sit out the Davis Cup final this season.

Austria, ranked No. 12, has only beaten Italy once in their previous six encounters — in the 1990 quarterfinals in Vienna, its best result in the team competition.

The Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna is the sixth edition of the revamped event that has the champion decided at a neutral site.

No. 1-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the six-time Grand Slam champion who is coming off a runner-up finish to Sinner at the ATP Finals in Turin on Sunday, withdrew with a hamstring injury.

Spain will take on the No. 4-seeded Czech Republic, and No. 2 Germany will play Argentina in the last two quarterfinals on Thursday.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press

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